News

Bishop of the Forces Pauses for Remembrance

10/11/2011 9:00 am

Bishop Richard Moth on The Chris Evans Breakfast Show

Pause for Thought, 10 November 2011

Whenever I walk down Whitehall, I like to stop and talk to the horses standing in their boxes at Horseguards. It is not always easy to get to them, with all the tourists jostling to get their prized photo taken with horse and Guard.

All is noise and activity in this busy street at the heart of the Capital. People are hurrying about trying to get to work in government offices and there are always plenty of sightseers keen to get a glimpse of the door of No 10.

On Sunday it will be different. Whitehall will be silent. It will be just the same across the cities; towns and villages. You and I will be silent. The whole nation will be drawn into silence - united in the silence of Remembrance.

For many, including myself at times, silence is difficult. What might fill the space? For the person of prayer, silence is a place of encounter with God – not always easy, but always a good place to be.

Remembrance is more than recall, more, even than memory. Our memories of those who have died in the cause of freedom and peace – relatives, loved ones, friends, colleagues – in some way make them present to us. Perhaps this can only really happen in silence.

For many, that silence might be scary. Images of recent suffering and the loss of a friend will fill the silence. For some, it will be a more distant pain – but no less painful for that. For others, it will be the wonder of sacrifice that fills our mind. The silence will be a time to remember those serving in the Armed Forces right now, with family and friends wishing they were safe home.

I hope we all join in that silence together, allow ourselves to be drawn into it, even though it may be hard – for in that silence we shall find a peace that only God can give.